Does Density Matter?

Title-

The free throw effect

Broad Question

How can people be better at free throws?

Specific Question-

Does the type of a ball affect the amount of free throws made?

Hypothesis

“It is hypothesized that the basket ball will have the greatest amount of free throws made, and the tennis ball will have the least amount of free throws made.”

Rationale- I think that the basketball will have the most shots made because most basketball players are more used to shooting a basketball rather than a lacrosse ball or a tennis ball.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable: Different type of Balls.

Dependent Variable: Percentage of shots the person will make.

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

The same gym and hoop set up used.
Same people.
Same Balls. Same instructions. Same lighting. Same spot to shot. Shoot the same way. Same person each turn.
Also I had to have the same noise(no interruptions).

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

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General Plan

Potential Problems And Solutions

Getting gym. Having times.
Getting People. Asking teachers.

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

Could get hit with a ball.
Allergy to the dust.
Breaking wrist when shooting.
Light falls on them.
Someone getting angry about the results.
They could also slip on the floor.

Experimental Design

Materials List
Item Name size quantity / description
1 Basketball Diameter 24 cm 1
2 tennis ball Diameter 4.4 cm 1
3 Lax ball Diameter 6 cm 1
4 flip 1

Design Paragraph
For my project I wanted to see if the different type of a ball mattered to the shooter.
What I did to set up was I had to get access to the gym then I had to get the people and get the balls they can shoot with. What I did was told the shooters how and where to shoot from and I asked them which ball they wanted first. How i found the mean was I put all the data into a Google doc and made the computer find the mean with the little tool that it has on the top right. So my experiment turned out great there were some problems getting the gym, but put aside that and it was a great experiment.

(add the correct headings from the experimental design page before beginning)

Resources and Budget Table

Item	Number needed	Where I will get this	Cost
Basket ball	1	Home	$0
Tennis ball	1	home	$0
Lacrosse	1	home	$0
Flip	1	School	$0
Gym	1	school	$0
i Pad	1	school	$0

Detailed Procedure

1. First get access to the gym and access to a scale.
2. Get 3 balls: one tennis ball, one soccer ball, and one basketball.
3. Weigh the balls in grams then record the results .
4. Gather 4 people: 3 boys and 1 girl.
5. Set up subjects at free throw line.
6.Give subject 1 the tennis ball and show the subject where and how to shoot.
7.Demonstrate to them how they should shoot the free throw and read the script.
8. Get three people to shoot 10 shots with each ball from the free throw line.
9. Get the other group to shoot 10 with each ball from the free throw line.
10. Tell the shooter to repeat as demonstrated.
11. When all shots are completed gather the information of how many people made their shots out of ten.

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Data Table

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Data Analysis

Graphs

Photos

Jon Shooting

3 balls that were used

Results

The average number of baskets made with the lacrosse ball was 2.25. The average number of baskets made with the tennis ball was 3 . The average number of baskets made with the basketball was 1.75. The smallest ball and the lightest had the greatest accuracy.

Conclusion

This experiment was designed to test whether the type of a ball affected the accuracy of free throws made. The results showed that the smallest ball, the tennis ball, had the best accuracy. The average number a baskets made with the tennis ball was 3, the average baskets made with the lacrosse ball was 2.25, the average number of baskets made with the basketball was 1.75.

Discussion

The experiment question was, does the size of a certain ball affect free throws made by four different students that were involved within the experiment. The balls that were tested were a tennis ball, lacrosse ball, and a basketball. The experiment results did answer the question, the tennis ball with the least density had the greatest accuracy.
It was hypothesized that the basketball (second lightest ball) would be the most accurate in the experiment, also the basketball would have the greatest accuracy. This hypothesis was not supported by the results, and did not answer the experiment question.
The tennis ball (which was the smallest) had the record of most shots that went into the basket, which proved that the size did matter within this experiment. One of the patterns that I saw was, as more shots were made by each student, it increased the chances of the success rate of more baskets. The tennis ball, lacrosse, and basketball showed that if shot from different angles, accuracy would either increase the chance of making a free throw or decrease.,
The basketball had the worst basket rate, where as the tennis ball had the highest basket rate. The pattern depended on the student however the only thing that stayed the same throughout the experiment was the tennis ball's accuracy. Other pattens were that someone kept getting the same score.The results happened by me recording them.The challenges that I had with this experiment was getting access to the gym and getting the people. The technology needed was a flip and a iPod.A future question could be why does the density matter??

Background Research

Works Cited


__http://www.ehow.com/list_6390510_basketball-science-fair-ideas.html__


__http://www.ehow.com/way_5371487_projects-science-fairs-basketball.html__


__http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sciencefaircentral/__



In the first website that I went on I learned how it is easier to shoot.
It is either easier shoot from your chest, chin, and or over your head.
This was tested to see which is easier to shoot with if there is someone that is taller than you.


In the second website that I studied I learned if it was easier to shoot with both eyes and one eye. Also that you had to have the shooters shoot ten times with one eye and ten shots with both.


In the last website that I read is that they were trying to see the different sounds the basketball makes when swished from different angles.
This person had to measure the amount of shots swished and then had to average it out.

References

Perles, Carrie. "Basketball Science Fair Ideas." EHow. Demand Media, 26 Apr. 2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.\

Runzel, Tamara. "Projects for Science Fairs About Basketball." EHow. Demand Media, 04 Sept. 2009. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.

"Discovery Education Science Fair Central Offers Ideas for Science Fair Projects and Experiments for Kids." Discovery Education Science Fair Central Offers Ideas for Science Fair Projects and Experiments for Kids. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.

Abstract

The purpose of this experiment was to see if the different type of a ball affected the amount of free throws. It was thought that the basketball would have the most amount of free throws made. This experiment was done by using these three balls: tennis ball, lacrosse ball, and basketball, testing this experiment there were four people to shoot from the free throw line in the school gym. The results were that the tennis ball had an average of 3. Which was the highest average and the smallest ball. The answer to this experiment question was that the size did matter.